The Pittsburgh Steelers have a colorful cast of celebrity fans. None may be tougher than Pittsburgh native Kurt Angle, a former amateur and professional wrestler. Angle might be best known for his time with the WWE, but he also won an Olympic gold medal in 1996 while competing with a broken neck. It’s a stunning accomplishment that’s the highlight of Angle’s illustrious career. However, as he recently revealed, Angle could have taken a different path by becoming a Steeler.
“They had me try out,” Angle said Tuesday on Chris Van Vliet’s YouTube channel. “I had a real good tryout. They wanted me to go to NFL Europe for a year or so, and I didn’t want to do that. Don’t forget the reason why I tried out for the Steelers is because I wasn’t making the world team or the Olympic team in wrestling.
“In 1993 and 1994, I was losing. I ended up third in ’93 and second in ’94. I kept losing to these two wrestlers consistently. So, after the 1994 season, I decided to quit. I figured, ‘What’s the use? I’m not going to beat these guys.’ That’s when the Steelers approached me, and I tried out for them.”
What a different life Angle might’ve lived had he stuck with his decision to quit and actually gone to NFL Europe. Angle was a dominant college wrestler at Clarion University in Pennsylvania, which is just a few hours away from Pittsburgh. However, he had no college football experience.
It’s usually unlikely for a person to make the NFL without any background in college football, but it’s not unheard of. Former San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates might be the most famous example. He played basketball in college and went on to have a stellar career.
Perhaps Angle could have also made that transition. We see today just how important a wrestling background can be for players, specifically offensive linemen. Center Zach Frazier had a fantastic rookie season for the Steelers, and he was an incredible high school wrestler. Angle did not lack athleticism or toughness.
Angle wouldn’t have been the first college wrestler the Steelers turned into a football player either. As he explains, the Steelers had just worked that magic with a successful player before they gave him a tryout.
“A wrestler, three-time national champion, Division 1, NCAA championships, his name was Carlton Haselrig,” Angle said. “When he graduated college, he didn’t play football, never played football a day in his life. The Steelers called him and said, ‘Hey, you want to come try out?’
“Not only that, but he didn’t even try out. What they did instead is they drafted him in the eighth round, and then they brought him on the team, and he did incredibly well. He was like a seven-time All-Pro. And they saw me, I was the next one coming up through the ranks for NCAA wrestling.”
Haselrig was a solid player, but Angle’s comments are a bit inflated. Haselrig played guard for the Steelers from 1990-93, making one Pro Bowl. Also, he was drafted in the 12th round, not the eighth. However, that’s still an unreal accomplishment for someone with such little football experience.
The Steelers tried to recreate Haselrig’s success with Angle, but it seems like it wasn’t mean to be. Part of that is probably due to their different builds. Both were some of the best wrestlers ever, but Angle wasn’t quite as big as Haselrig. That wrestling background is helpful for offensive linemen, but as Angle explains, the Steelers wanted him to play running back.
“For me, being at a skill position, you have to have college experience,” he said. “They want me to be a running back. Going from wrestling to pro football, it’s a hard transition.”
Picture the world where Angle is the running back for Bill Cowher’s Steelers. It might’ve been the most Pittsburgh team in NFL history. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be, but both sides ended up better off anyway. Angle even got to show off his Pittsburgh roots in a commercial from earlier this year.
Angle decided to return to wrestling, which was the right decision in hindsight. He would overcome those challenges that were plaguing him, winning an Olympic gold medal. Even after that, he was one of the best professional wrestlers in history, becoming an entertaining figure with WWE and TNA.
Meanwhile, the Steelers solved their running back problem by trading for Jerome Bettis. While it took until the end of Bettis’ career for the Steelers to win a Super Bowl, he was the heart and soul of that team for years. Without him, it’s tough to say if they would’ve won the franchise’s fifth Super Bowl.
Angle joining his hometown team would’ve been a nice story, but Bettis isn’t a consolation prize. Who knows if Angle would’ve panned out even with more experience too. It’s a fun what-if scenario, though. It’s tough to say what would’ve been better for Angle to win: an Olympic gold medal or a Super Bowl ring with his favorite team? Just having that option shows what a great athlete Angle was.
